


how it comes to light

by Quillium



Series: natsume week 2k19 [4]
Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Gen, Kitamoto's there but it's from Nishimura's POV and fairly Natsume centric, so he doesn't get as much love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 18:57:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19481989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quillium/pseuds/Quillium
Summary: “A minor god owes you a favour,” Nishimura repeats numbly, because what else can he do? “Atsushi, you heard that too, right? I wasn't hallucinating?”“I don't think you can hallucinate sound, Satoru.”





	how it comes to light

They’re huddled together in Nishimura’s bedroom, squished beneath a sloppily made blanket fort lit by randomly placed flashlights. It’s nearing midnight when Natsume whispers, “Do you believe in spirits?”

And normally, normally Nishimura would yelp _hell no_ because he’s scared as fuck of the idea of spirits and he would probably die if they did exist but this is Natsume, Natsume who’s never asked an empty question in his life, so he has to think this through, has to weigh his answer in a way that doesn’t hurt Nastume.

“Why?” Kitamoto asks. He’s fast, quick, better at this than Nishimura, who can only handle light words that brush off trouble instead of weighted words that delve into it.

“No reason,” Nastume says, which is a lie, they all know it. “It was a dumb question.”

“Natsume,” Nishimura turns over so he can flop an arm over Natsume and Kitamoto, “If it’s you asking, it’s not dumb.”

Natsume turns and presses his head against Nishimura’s shoulder, voice faint as he asks, “You sure?”

And, because Nishimura’s pretty sure that if he says _yes_ he’ll unlock something important about Natsume, he says, “Yeah.”

Natsume takes a shuddering breath and then just doesn’t talk.

“You can tell us,” Nishimura says.

“You don’t have to,” Kitamoto shoots him a look.

“You don’t have to,” Nishimura agrees, “But we’ll trust you. Even if it’s super dumb sounding. We’re friends.”

“I see spirits.”

Oh.

Okay.

Uh.

This. This was a logical conclusion but Nishimura seriously didn’t expect it.

His first instinct is to laugh but he can’t, because this is Nastume and the rules are different with Natsume, who hold things tight to his chest and only unfolds his fingers when he’s sure he can handle the blow even if he can’t.

“Okay,” Nishimura says because if there’s even a 0.01% chance this is true he’d rather be laughed at than risk hurting Natsume’s feelings.

“ _Okay_ ,” Natsume repeats. He gives a quiet laugh and doesn’t say anything.

What can he say?

He doesn’t know. So Nishimura doesn’t say anything.

__

They leave it like that for _one month_. Never mention it again. Nishimura and Kitamoto are waiting for Natsume to say something and Natsume seems to think it was all some sort of dream that never happened so they’re at a standstill.

What do they do?

Then creepy eyepatch dude shows up and that settles the problem. Kinda. Nishimura would like if creepy eyepatch dude never appeared within a million kilometre’s radius of Natsume ever again, thank you very much.

“Your—friends—don’t understand you,” Creepy dude says, smiling a dumb, calm smile, cool as a cucumber. Nishimura resists the urge to hit him. “What can they know of what you see—“

Nishimura, because he’s a dumb idiot, decides to take a chance. “You mean the spirit thing?”

Creepy dude visibly startles. Stiffens slowly, like he’s coiling, preparing to murder Nishimura on the spot. “You told them,” he says, voice thin and cool.

“Yeah, we’ve known for a while now,” Nishimura offers what he hopes comes across as a cool smile. A month, a while, meh, it’s a stretch but creepy guy doesn’t know that. “And we think you need to back away from Natsume.”

“Your little friends can’t do much against youkai even if they do know, Natsume,” creepy dude says, “You should come with me.”

“I’m fine, thank you,” Natsume says in a shaky voice, looking like he’s ready to knee creepy dude where it hurts.

Creepy dude’s lip curl’s but he leaves.

Natsume whirls around, “When did I tell you?”

“Uh, the sleepover a month ago?”

“Why—why didn’t you mention it?”

“We were waiting for you, dude.”

Natsume chews on his nails, “And you don’t think I’m, uh, crazy or anything?”

Nishimura shrugs, “I mean, that dude seemed to be in it as well, and shared hallucinations aren’t a thing, like scientifically speaking, so—“

He blabbers on, him and Kitamoto both on the way to Natsume’s house, and he tries to pretend he doesn’t notice the way Natsume relaxes like a great burden’s been lifted.

He does, though, and there’s some semblance of pride that he and Kitamoto did that.

__

“Oi, Natsume, feed me.”

“What the _fuck_!” Nishimura screams, jumping onto Kitamoto, “Natsume, why does your cat talk?”

Nyanko offers Natsume what Nishimura can only describe as a deadpan stare (why? Why is a cat giving Natsume that look? A _cat_? Why is Nastume acting like this is _normal_?) and grumbles, “I thought they knew about me.”

“They do know I can see youkai. I guess I just—forgot to tell them about you, sensei.”

“What is happening?” Kitamoto asks in that calm, cool way of his that means he thinks he’s figured it out and just needs confirmation.

Why is Nishimura the only one with no cool. That’s unfair. So unfair.

“Nyanko-sensei is a youkai,” Natsume explains.

“Oh,” Nishimura says faintly.

“He’s stupid,” Nyanko says, “Can I eat him?”

“No, sensei.”

Nishimura faints.

(Thankfully, Natsume prevents Nyanko from eating him while he faints.)

__

Natsume takes them to an in-between world, a forest where even humans can see youkai. “A minor god owed me a favour, I guess,” he says self consciously, rubbing the back of his neck.

“A minor god owes you a favour,” Nishimura repeats numbly, because what else can he do? “Atsushi, you heard that too, right? I wasn't hallucinating?”

“I don't think you can hallucinate sound, Satoru,” Kitamoto says mildly, but he's amazed too, Nishimura is 80% sure.

It’s a gorgeous place, existing in a constant in between state of twilight, the horizon bathed in flames while the sky overhead is midnight blue. The trees are ancient, creaking things swallowed by bits of moss and the faint path is lit by small, glowing youkai resembling fireflies.

“Thank you for bringing us here, Natsume,” Kitamoto says, leaning over to hug Natsume. “It’s beautiful.”

Natsume hesitantly hugs him back, “It was the least I could do,” he says, as though calling in a favour from a minor god just for them to see this was nothing. “After all you did for me.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Nishimura says, numbly, linking his fingers in Natsume’s.

“You showed me a world that wasn’t so cruel as I thought,” Natsume answers, so honest that it makes Nishimura want to cry. “If it weren’t for that, I’d be terrified right now in a place like this. But because of you, I can enjoy how beautiful it is.”

Nishimura starts crying, “You’re so dumb,” he says, “We didn’t do anything. You did it on your own, because you’re a kind person.”

“I don’t think so,” Natsume says, but he smiles faintly, like he isn’t going to argue further, because he knows it’s no use.

“It’s only pretty because you can show it to us,” Nishimura says, impulsively. And then, in case the minor god is listening, “And, uh, the youkai who owed you the favour. We’re very thankful to them. Wherever they are.”

Natsume laughs and so does Nishimura and the forest is gorgeous and in that instant, the world is perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was secrets but I decided to make it about trust and fluff. I'm not sorry.


End file.
